SPJ South Florida partnered with the Florida College Press Association to present the 2012 FCPA Awards, the “Student Division” of the Sunshine State awards. And the winners are…

College Journalist of the Year

1. Steven Gallo, University of Florida
2. Gideon Grudo, Florida Atlantic University

College Newspaper

1. The Current – Ashley Daniels , Max Martinez , Tracy Crow & Staff
2. Spinnaker – Josh Gore, Max Jaeger, Chance Ryan & Greg Parlier
3. The Famuan – The Famuan Staff

College Magazine

1. Journey – Journey Staff
2. The Minaret – Minaret Staff

College News Broadcast

1. The Famuan – Wandoo Makurdi & Kenneth Jones, Ke Nako
2. The Famuan – Lenneia Batiste, FAMU News 20 at Five, Diamond
3. The Famuan – Markia Butler & Leonard Horton, FAMU News 20 at Five, FAMU

College Media Website

1. The Miami Hurricane – Staff
2. Journey – Journey Staff
3. iPulse – iPulse Staff

News Story

1. Spinnaker – Greg Parlier, Textbook legislation attempts to make prices reasonable
2. University Press – Staff, Beneath it all
3. Spinnaker – Matt Head, SG presidential salaries revealed

News Photo

1. The Miami Hurricane – Natalie Edgar, Forum connects students in the 99 percent

Feature Story

1. The Current – Katie Honan, Local youth cautions against Oxycontin addiction
2. The Miami Hurricane – Margaux Herrera, Alumnus travels around the world for living
3. The Gargoyle – Alex Bonus, Despite war, young couple perseveres
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Feature Photo

1. iPulse – Brittney Markowski, Cupcakes Get A Makeover
2. The Miami Hurricane – Sagette Van Embden, Local fruits used in pie-eating contest

Sports Story

1. The Miami Hurricane – Christina De Nicola & Ernesto Suarez, Have you seen these girls?
2. The Gargoyle – Mari Pothier, Coach Meyer works to find balance between daughter’s illness and job
3. University Press – Ryan Cortes, Who is Jarvis Givens?

Sports Photo

1. The Current – Ashley Daniels, Heroes’ player slides into 3rd base to help clinch the victory over Canada.
2. The Miami Hurricane – Zach Beeker, Shooting stars
3. The Current – Ethan Cooper, Junior Caroline Bond diving to her left to block a shot during practice.

Sports Column

1. The Miami Hurricane – Austen Gregerson, Time to be frank: Haith achieved nothing
2. Spinnaker – Tim Bee, Storm warning until the season is over

Front Page Design

1. University Press – Gideon Grudo & Tyler Krome, Time for a change
2. Spinnaker – Grecia Valenzuela, Keri Weiland, Everett Sullivan, Bands say Jacksonville’s music scene fosters mostly pitfalls
3. The Current – Staff, The Current Issues 4, 5, 6

Feature Design

1. The Barry Buccaneer – Damian Flores, From Marine Biology to break dancing
Judge’s comment: Clever display. It’s as if we’re watching him dance as we follow the photos around the page.
2. The Miami Hurricane – Mariah Price & Allison Goodman, WVUM’s top 5

Editorial/Opinion Column

1. The Gargoyle – Eliza Jordan, Everyone’s got a story to tell
2. The Miami Hurricane – Staff, Unified voices can bring change
3. The Gargoyle – Amber James, New ads hinting at domestic violence offends the “unoffendable”

FCPA has made a new friend. The Society of Professional Journalists has invited us to co-sponsor its annual Region 3 media conference. And we said yes.

Every spring, SPJ sponsors a conference for college and pro journalists in the southeast United States — that’s Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and South Carolina. This year, it’s being held at the University of Florida on Friday and Saturday, March 23-24.

FCPA will be there…

• We’ll host our own track of programs, including sessions on how to win journalism awards (with tips from judges of national and regional contests) and how to land a media job (from the owner of a media jobs website).

• FCPA newspapers and magazines can get critiqued at the conference, and they can submit their front pages ahead of time for a radical redesign that’s intended to start a conversation.

• FCPA advisers will meet over coffee and FCPA editors will meet over Red Bull, where they can discuss whatever the hell they want.

• FCPA will announce the winners of its Best Under the Sun Awards. But instead of a stuffy, three-hour luncheon that charges you $30 extra for rubbery chicken cordon bleu that you eat at round tables, we’re handing out the certificates over free pizza in less than an hour. And you can sit wherever you choose.

Of course, your registration entitles you to sit in all the SPJ sessions, too. (We’re pals, remember?) As soon as we get details on those, we’ll pass them along.

Online registration opens Monday, Jan. 2. FCPA members pay only $30 if they register by March 1. After that, the price doubles. (Hey, you’re journalists. If you can’t make a deadline, it’ll cost you.)

The conference hotel — which will give you a special rate — is right on the University of Florida campus just 100 yards from the j-school. And Saturday night, you’ll party with your new SPJ comrades, who will take you out on the town.

Questions? Email FCPA president Michael Koretzky.

SPJ South Florida partnered with the Florida College Press Association to present the 2011 FCPA Awards, the “Student Division” of the Sunshine State awards. And the winners are…

College Journalist of the Year

• First Place: Rebekah Shepherd – University of Florida
• Second Place: Karla Bowsher – Florida Atlantic University
• Third Place: Joshua Napier – The University of Tampa

Best College Newspaper

• First Place: The Current – Petra Stevenson, Tracy Crow, Max Martinez, Staff, The Current, Issues2, 3, and 4 from Fall 2010
• Second Place: The Miami Hurricane – Staff, The Miami Hurricane
• Third Place: The Minaret – Editor: Alex Vera, Assistant Editor: Mike Trobiano, The Minaret Staff,The Minaret

Best College Magazine

• First Place: The Famuan – Journey Magazine, Journey Magazine

Best College Media Website

• First Place: I-Pulse – iPulse Staff, iPulse Web site
• Second Place: The Minaret – Alex Vera, Yara Abbas, The Minaret Online
• Third Place: Spinnaker – Ian Albahae, UNF Spinnaker website

Best News Story

• First Place: University Press – Monica Ruiz, Sifting through the haze: SigEp is suspended for ayear, but they may not be the only ones to haze
• Second Place: The Gargoyle – Cal Colgan, Homeless count finds lackluster living conditions
• Third Place: I-Pulse – Arianna Shaffer, Model Student United Nations

Best News Photo

• First Place: Spinnaker – Erik Tanner, Louisiana fishermen flop due to BP’s careless job dissipation
• Second Place: The Current – William Skinner, Spectators perch in trees to view Stewart/Colbertrally Oct. 30.
• Third Place: Spinnaker – Erik Tanner, Photo of the Week

Best Feature Story

• First Place: The Current – Jaclyn New, Lesson from Nairobi: Smiles lost in translation
• Second Place: I-Pulse – Jennifer Rodrigues, Choosing to Spend a Day Sans Shoes
• Third Place: The Gargoyle – Cal Colgan, Former Flagler student talks about Marine life inAfghanistan

Best Feature Photo

• First Place: Spinnaker – Erik Tanner, Parkour
• Second Place: I-Pulse – Zack Caplan, Traveling With Birthright
•Third Place: The Minaret – Samantha Battersby, Spring Dance Concert

Best Sports Story

• First Place: The Miami Hurricane – Christina De Nicola, He’s back
• Second Place: University Press – Franco Panizo, Big kid at heart: Running back’s off-fieldpersonality a big part of on-field success
• Third Place: The Current – Kirsten Sengstacke, After Division II: playing pro basketball overseas

Best Sports Photo

• First Place: The Miami Hurricane – Lindsay Brown, The start of a new era
• Second Place: The Famuan – Keenan Doanes, Post inconsistencies lead to hard loss
• Third Place: I-Pulse – Jade Adams, Riding the Wake of Excellence

Best Front Page Design

• First Place: The Famuan – Jeffrey Morris, Front Page
• Second Place: Spinnaker – Chad Smith, B.O.B.
• Third Place: The Current – Ashli Fiorini, Cover of Issue 3 (Oct. 15, 2010): “Welcome to Facebook.”

Best Editorial/Opinion Column

• First Place: The Current – Jeralyn Darling, Tampa Tribune article rankles EC community
• Second Place: The Current – Aaron Coder, Ground zero mosque debate rages• Third Place: The Current – Petra Stevenson, Impending extinction? Has the age of the yellow bikecome to an end?

More on the 17th annual Sunshine State Awards competition…